As soon as I arrived at John Thompson’s residence, I saw a middle-aged man coming out from the doorway. The door he exited from was exactly John Thompson’s place. Seeing him, I hurried forward and asked, “Excuse me, are you John Thompson?”

The middle-aged man was taken aback to see a stranger at his door. He frowned, sized me up, then nodded and said, “Yes, who are you? How do you know me?”

Hearing that he was indeed the person I was looking for, I couldn’t help but get a little excited. It seemed the police were right—among those who picked up spirit money at the intersection a month ago, there really was one who hadn’t had anything happen to him.

Without delay, I quickly introduced myself, “Mr. Thompson, my name is Eric Brooks. I found out you live here from the police. Sorry to show up unannounced and disturb you.”

“The police told you I live here?” John Thompson looked at me with some suspicion and asked, “What do you want with me?”

I nodded and said, “Mr. Thompson, the reason I came to find you is to ask you about something. About a month ago, did you and a few friends pick up some spirit money at the intersection?”

As soon as I asked this, I could clearly sense his shock. He didn’t say a word, just turned around and tried to leave, as if he was very reluctant to talk about it.

Chapter Six John Thompson’s Solution

Seeing that he was about to leave, how could I let him go? I quickly caught up to him and asked, “Mr. Thompson, I really have something important to ask you. Please give me a few minutes to talk about that incident, okay?”

John Thompson’s expression was very unpleasant. He said coldly, “I don’t have time. I have to hurry and make a delivery.”

It was obvious he didn’t want to discuss this with an outsider. But he was my only hope right now. If he refused to help me, I really would have no way out.

I blocked his way and pleaded, “Mr. Thompson, I’m not here to cause trouble. I’m here to ask for your help. I won’t take up much of your time, okay?”

John Thompson saw that I was blocking him and got a little angry, his tone very unfriendly. “Who exactly are you, and why are you asking about this?”

I said, “To be honest, I also picked up spirit money at that intersection last night. There were two others with me, but both of them are dead now. I heard from the police that you also encountered this strange thing, so I came to find you, hoping you could help me.”

“What? You also picked up spirit money at that intersection!” John Thompson was extremely shocked when he heard this, and his previously unfriendly expression disappeared.

“Yes!” I nodded and said, “I heard that a month ago you and a few friends also picked up spirit money there. Is that true?”

John Thompson nodded, fell silent for a while, as if recalling what happened a month ago. A look of fear appeared on his face, then he said, “That’s a sign of death. You’d better be careful. I can’t help you.”

Hearing this, I panicked. If he didn’t help me, wouldn’t I be doomed? So I quickly pleaded, “Mr. Thompson, Mr. Thompson, you have to help me! Weren’t there four others who picked up the money with you? They all died, but you’re fine. I know you must have a way. Please help me!”

John Thompson said, “I’m just an ordinary truck driver, not some master. What could I possibly do? You’d better go find someone else.”

How could I give up so easily? This was about my life! So I grabbed him and said, “Mr. Thompson, as the saying goes, saving a life is more meritorious than building a seven-story pagoda. If you don’t help me, I really have no way out.”

As I said this, I stuffed the pack of Zhonghua cigarettes I’d bought beforehand into his hand.

Maybe it was out of sympathy, maybe because he felt sorry for me, or maybe because he couldn’t refuse after accepting my gift, but in the end, John Thompson sighed and finally agreed to talk to me.

John Thompson pulled me aside, and after making sure no one was around, he whispered to me, “Little brother, since you’ve come to me, I’ll tell you. That spirit money must not be picked up. It’s life-shortening money. Whoever picks it up will die.”

“Life-shortening money?”

Hearing those three words, I was startled. Although I didn’t know exactly what it meant, just hearing it made me very scared.

“That’s right, life-shortening money. This kind of money for the dead is burned for the spirits. The living must not pick it up. Whoever picks up that money will have their lifespan shortened. It’s just like the saying: ill-gotten gains cost you your life. That’s what it means,” John Thompson said with conviction.

“Huh?” Hearing this, my first thought was that I was done for. Didn’t that mean my lifespan had already been shortened? I’d heard elders say that in a person’s life, the amount of money they can earn is predestined—whether rich or poor, that’s their fate. Once you enjoy too much fortune, your lifespan runs out. The spirit money that Old Smith and I picked up was all in denominations of ten thousand or even a hundred million. That’s a huge amount! I know I could never reach the level of a billionaire in this life. If this spirit money counts as ill-gotten gains, then my fortune is surely used up.

Thinking about it this way, I realized what John Thompson said made sense. I broke out in goosebumps—was this spirit money really so sinister?